Flush valve



Oct'. 21, 1941. wJ E. sLioAN ETAL 2,260,094

FLUSHNALVE Filed Feb. 28, 1938 l,2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Marl.' WH

ATTORN EY Oct. 21, 1941. w, E SLOAN ETAL A2,260,094

FLUSH.VALVE F'led Feb. 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented ct,271, 1941 f A2,260,094i j p FLUSH VALVE 'Y E William E. Sloan, RiverForest, and' Irving H. Russell, Oak Park,.Ill., assignors YtoSloan'Valve Company, Chicago, Ill., a lcorporation of IllinoisApplication February 28, 1938, Serial No. 192,944

Our invention'relates to flush valves, and has as its general object theprovision of a flu-sh. valve which may be .readily a'daptedto beinstalled `in a number of positions and which is relatively silent inoperation.

One specific object of the invention isv the production of a iiush valvehaving a water inlet. in one side of the casingV and having a handlewhich may be mounted in the side of the casing in a plurality ofpositions with respect tothe position of the inlet opening, whereby thehand le may be located at the side of the liush valve with the waterinlet positioned either tothe right, to the left, or to Athe rear of theflush valve. In carrying out this object, one handle opening is provided:on the` side opposite rthe .inlet open-A inggand a second handleopening is provided displaced a quarter of a turn from the first. Inthis way, when the ush valve is installed with the inlet located in anyone of the three customary positions above enumerated, one or the otherof the two handle openings comes'in such a position that the handle canbe placed therein and extend along parallel tothe wall through which thesupply pipe is brought.

, A further specific object of our invention is the production of a newYand improved air-inlet device or vacuum breakerY which is tted intowhichever handle opening is not usedby the flush valve handle to servethe dual purpose of admitting air readilyl to the flush valve interiorunder conditions tending to cause back-syphonage, as well as to admitair-to the interior of the flush valve below the seat thereol` near theend of the flushing operation, so asV to largely eliminate what arecommonly referred to as the'approach and relill nises.

It is a further specic object of our invention te provide the air-intakedevice with e suitable mulliervwhich effectively silences the soundwhich is otherwise created by virtue of the air being drawn into theflush valve interior through the air-inlet device near the end of theoperation of the ush valve. This air-noise muler conveniently takes theform of a renewable cartridge of relatively loose ller material having arelatively large surface exposed through which the air may flow in quitereadily, but which has a deadening eliect upon sound tending to reachthe outside of the flush valve.

Y Other objects and features of our invention, more Vor less incidentalto those above set forth, will appear upon a further perusal of thespecification. The accompanying drawings, comprising ,Figures 1 to ,11,show suiicient details of apisi-+111)v .-1 paratusconstructe'd inaccordance with the inventiorrto enable the` nvehtonfto' llleunderlFigures l 1f. and 2fshoWa`side view (partly inv section) andabottom,view lpartly in section) of oneforin of the '.'improved flush valve; sFigures 3` 'andfkl show.' corresponding" views `of the casing` of Ytheliushvalve with'fa'modified 'con-.- struction of theY barrel orcylinder/which conflnesthe. guidewings of the yflush valve;

Figures 5- Vand. 6 nshowt a "top view and `a iront' View, respectively,.of an installation in which the improved flush valveis fused.with vthersupply coming to ythe ,flush valve .from the right, the operating handlebeingllocatedfon the left;

Figure? .shows a top ViewV ofthe improved flush valve as vit appearswhenthe supply line reacliesthe 'inlet openinglrom the left, the operating.handle extending to the right; 20. YFigure 8 shows an. installation inwhich the supply linereache'sthe improved flush valve from the ran'theoperating handle extending to the right;` '4' Figure'l) is a*double-scale sectional view of thel ofFigJv'l;x y. A j

vFigure l0 isV a sectionalfv'iew taken along the line- Illlil of 9inQthev direction vindicated bythe arrowheads; andA Figure 11 isadouble-Scalvfront view ofthel muiller or filter Ielement I8.

Referring now particularlyl the ush valve shown thereinhas a b ody orcasing indicated 'generallyfby the reference numeral I, and a threadedinlet 'opening 2, and a slip joint outlet 3. Y YThe valve isfprnvidedAwith .a finishing cap `4, heldinjplac by thecap nutV 5.. Thewaterdischargedthrough the y,flush valve passesthi'oughV the dischargeVr tube'rheldin place by the cou- 40 plingnut 'I which compessesthe illustratedsealing gasketfto seal'the flush pipey and retain it, in place in thecustomary mannen 'f The main valve"8 is normally in engagement with theinain seat with therell head I0 extending within the 'opening throughthe "main seat and through vthe associated guide barrel I2, the lowerend of the main-valve assembly being guided inthe guide barrel l2 bytheguide wings -The stem" I3`of the usual relief .valve (not shown)isactuated by the horizontally extending plunger. I5 of the handleassembly I4, when the handle is operated. VThe operation of this stem bythe handle causes `the main valve 8 to rise in 55 the well-known 'mannerresponsive to line presvacuum breaker orninlet'val-ve`mechanism I6v teFigs. 1 andz,

through the flush valve in its full open position .is 4j4 throttled moreor less according to the line pressure by the associated individualthrottle valveor stop valve, such as 28 in Figs.. pand 6, the rate; Y offlow being adjusted according1to the requiref ments of the closet bowlor. other receptacle` being flushed.

It is well understood thatsuoient water must be left in the bowl whenflushing action.A isi-come.

pleted to provide the requiredl seal against the escape of sewer gas,the water required forthis purpose being known as rel'l water. The waterfor refilling the bowl ilows after the reiillhea'd' Iii has entered theopeningin the' main seat 9 during the time required'ior the main valve 8to travelthe'remaining distance to its seat. Because of the relativelysmall clearance between the rell head and the main seat '9, the rate ofiow during the refilling operationis'v very much less than the rateofflow during the flushing operation, whereby the receptacle being flusheddoes not' syphon again land carry out the refill water. When'the reiillhead 'is' approaching the main seat, the relatively low back pressureoffered by the flush valve during the main' flushing operation isincreased until it becomesY a large fraction of the line pressure by thetimethe reiill head It! has entered the opening through the main seatand through the guide barrel. As the pressure builds up, the velocity ofthe water passing through the flush valve is greatly increased, and thishigh velocity of the water passing Ythrough the restricted openingordinarily gives rise to pronounced and objectionable noises which areemitted not only in the room where the ush valve is installed, buttravel along the piping-'system to cause more or less annoyance to otheroccupants of the building. The characteristicsound produced as therelllheadY is'` approaching l. the main seat is commonly referred toasthe f approach noise, while the characteristic sound produced afterthe rell head has enteredand before the valve is fully seated iscommonly referred to as the rell noise. v n

During tests made with a View of discovering how to minimize theapproach and'rell noises, it was discovered that thesenoises are largelyeliminated when an opening is made through they casingV below the mainseat to admit air tov thev interior of the casing. It was found that themovement of the Water at the relatively highvelocities which occurduring the approach and re-v filling operations, aided by the weight ofthe water falling through the discharge tube, creates a sub- .c

about the same point at which the -velocity reaches the noise-makingvalue.

It was soon found that a simple hole in the side of the casing betweenthe outlet and main seat 9, although it sulilced to eliectively silencethe approach and refill operations, could not be tolerated because ofthe leakage out through this hole during the main flushing operationwhen the rate of flow is such that more or less back pressure is offeredby the xture being hushed.

` For this purpose, the vacuum breaker device I6 was developed to beplaced in one of the two handle openings previously discussed. As willbe pointed out more fully hereinafter, the vacuumbreaking device I6 hasan air-intake passage leading from the outside into the interior of thedischarge chamber and is provided with a normally closed check-valve 31,which prevents the flow of water out through the air-intake openingduring the main flushing operation, while being lifted" readily by theoutside air pressure when the sub-atmospheric'condition is brought aboutin the discharge chamber ofthe ush'Valve-at the beginning of theapproach to the rell position. At this time, air is drawn in through theinlet hole 29 in the retainer cap I'I, through the muffler or lter I8,up through the check-valve 3T, raising the check-valveoi its seat, andthence into the discharge chamber ofthe 'lush'valve` by way of the'exithole I9'ofjthe vacuum-breaking device.

In order that the admitted air have the fullest opportunity'to circulatein the swirling waterin the discharge chamber and rise to a-pointcloseto the main seat, the bottom portion ofthe barrel I2 is cut away aroundnearly half the circumference, as may be seen upon reference to- Fig. 2and upon noting thel dotted linebehind therell head IU in Fig. 1.Y Thiscutaway portion of 40 ing -device I6 may be installed, the handle,` of

course, occupying the other` position. The portion of the barrel whichis left offull vertical ex tent is sufficient to support at least:two-of the guide wings H, as may be-'seen in Fig. 2. There is, ofcourse, some side thrust upon the main valve and the guide wingsvI|-when theY handle plunger I5'Vengages the stem I3'of the relief valveupon an operationof` thef handle, but itis toV be noted'that the barrelis of fullheight opposite the handle to receivevthis` thrust of the.guide wings, no matter in'which of the two openings the handle may beinstalled. Y

Referring now particularly to Figs.: 3 and 4, these drawings showAacasingA for a flush valve, as in Figs. land 2, in'which the reductionin the heightof the barrel I2 opposite the. handle and rell openings(indicated in" Fig. 3 as'I2). is only slight, whereby all four of theguide wings I I are confined -within the barrel; thus the usual fullguiding is not interfered with. Tests have indicated that the barrelarrangement of Figs. 3 and 4, with its superior guiding, isabout-assatisfactory from Athe silencing standpoint as the barrelarrangement of Figs. -1 and 2, provided the air-intake passage issufficiently large toadmit the somewhat increased amount of air requiredwith the modified barrel arrangement.

Referring now particularlyV to Figs. Sand 6, it will be noted that thesupplypipe 23 extends outV ofthe wall suiciently to Aengage the inlet ofthe throttle or-stop valve 28, the exi-t from bly, whose retainer capI'I is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is placed in opening B.

In Fig. 7, the supply pipe and stop 28 are located to the left of theush valve, necessitating that the ush valve be turned around asillustrated. In this case also, the handle assembly I4 is located inopening A, while the vacuum breaker is placed in opening B.

It sometimes happens that the supply pipe is brought out of the walldirectly behind the flush valve, as is indicated in Fig. 8, a so-calledstraight stop 28 being inserted between the supply pipe and the flushvalve. In this installation, the handleassembly I4 is moved around fromopening A to opening B, while the vacuum-breaker assembly, indicated bythe retainer cap I1, is placed in opening A.

It will thus be seen that the improved flush valve, with alternativeopenings for the handle, enables a single style of flush valve casing orbody to meet the three common conditions of installation illustrated inFigs. 6 to 8, in that the Vacuum-breaker assembly and the handleassembly may be interchangeably mounted in the two openings provided forthis purpose; the preferred position of the handle, extending alongparallel to the wall, being retained in each of the three common typesof ush-valve installation.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 9 to 11, the

air-inlet or vacuum-breaking device will be described more in detail.This device is illustrated as installed in the position shown in Figs. 1and 2,V but is shown double-scale in Figs. 9 to 11 for clarity. The bodyI6 of `the vacuum-breaker assembly is preferably moldedV of a substancehaving molding characteristics such as those of the material knowncommercially as Bakelite The body I6 has the general form of a washer ordisc of a diameter only slightly less than the diameter of the face ofthe opening A in the casing I. The body is held in place by the retainercap Il, while the gasket 43 acts as a seal between the body I6 and theface of the opening in which it is held.

In order to maintain the vacuum-breaker assembly I6 in its requiredupright position, the bottom of the opening A (and the same is true forthe bottom of the opening B) has a keyway 41 therein which receives acorresponding key 45 formed in the shell-like cover 2|. A key-rib 45 isformed on the bottom of the body I6 to extend into the depressed keywayproduced inside the shell 2| upon the formation of the said key 4S.

'I'he main body portion I6 has the connected ribs 4I and 42 formedthereon to inclose the vertical air passage 36, and to provide theraised seat 39 for the air valve 3'I, as Well as to act as a bafiie toprevent any possible splashing of water onto the valve seat.

The rivet 4|] is cast into the rib 42. This rivet has a hollow outer endwhich is turned over as illustrated to retain the shell 2| in position.

The air valve 3l is provided with a seating portion 38 which ispreferably of live soft rubber.

The upper'nd .44 ofthe' squaresshaped guide stem for the air valveprovides a stop against the shellA 2|. to prevent theair valve frombeing drawn 1 out of. the passage 35xwhen there is a large .inrushofair. Y

- Themufiler'or lter '|8, illustrated best in Fig'ssg and11,;is'preferablyofloosely felted filler material 32,1containedv withinthe ringlike con-.- tainer.33`,.and heldin place by the discs 3l)l and3| of Acoarse',openmesh,.Wire cloth. Air entering through hole 29 in theretaining cap may pass freely to any part of the outside surface of themuiiler and thence pass through the deadening ller material I32 to theinside of the muiller I8. From this point, the air may pass freely tothe horizontal passage 35, and thence to the vertical passage 36. Whenthe pressure within the outlet Vchamber of the ush valve is more or lessbelow atmospheric pressure, this reduced pressure is transmitted throughthe exit hole I9 of the vacuum-breakingdevice to the interior of theshell 2|. Under this condition, the normal atmospheric pressure,operating on the bottom of the valve, raises the valve 31 easily fromits seat and thus permits air to flow freely to the interior. At allother times, the valve 3'| is reliably seated, with the soft seatingpart 38 on the sharp raised seat 39.

It is to be noted that the open end of the cover 2| is outwardly anged,and that it lies in a recess which brings its face in line with thesealing face of the body I6. By this arrangement, the gasket 43 alsoseals between the body I6 and the cover 2 I. The cover 2| thus denes anair chamber which prevents water from reaching and damaging theair-valve seat. The exit from the interior of the vacuum-breakerstructure to the interior of the flush valve casing is at the bottom ofcover 2 I, through the exit hole I9. The danger of Water splashing intothe shell 2| and reaching the air valve when the air valve is seated isthus minimized. This possibility is rendered still more remote by thebaille-like construction of the ledge or rib 4| which extends on bothsides of the seat 39 and thus nearly fills the interior of the shell 2|at the height of the seat, but leaving ample clearance for air passagebetween the shelf 4| and the inside of theshell 2 By selecting the llermaterial 32 of the muler with regard to its looseness, the rate at whichair is drawn in is suitably controlled so that no noticeable noise isproduced. Being provided with a relatively large surface as compared tothe area of the air passage, the muffler I8 is in very little) danger ofclogging up as a result of particles contained in the indrawn air. Theshell or cover 2| assists in deadening splashing sounds tending to reachthe outside through the air inlet.

In addition to having a retarding and quieting eiect upon the velocityof the air drawn in, the muffler I8 has a deadening effect upon soundstending to penetrate to the outside of the flush valve casing,occasioned by the splashing of Water therein, which sounds might beotherwise somewhat noticeable in the event of a direct unmuiliedazeeoee.

seat, there being an air opening into'-k the side; ci 'e thedischargechamber to; admit ail: intntthedischarge: chamber when the,velocity of the water passingv between thegvalve andtsfrseat is; greatenough to cause a reduced pressure Within: the' discharge chamber andAthe consequent; danger. 10

etnaenqisy cw in the` said discharge chamber,l there. henganl openingthrough the; sideoiisaid;

basrreljf-rom the. discharge chamber to allow the admitted air. to passalongthe side; of theds.-

charge chambern a convection current up to the vicinity' of' the valveseat, whereby the genera-- tionfrofnoise due to the high Velocity flowis sub-A stantiallyprevented.

WILLIAM E. SLOAN.

IRVING H. RUSSELL.

